In television, planning is everything. Throw in one of the country's most enduring fall traditions, and it's a carefully planned operation.

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"When the schedule comes out in April, we know exactly where we're going to be. We know everything -- where the trucks are going to be in terms of the production. So that in and of itself is set in stone,” said Jed Drake, the executive producer of ESPN's "Monday Night Football."

This week's game against the St. Louis Rams and the visiting Seattle Seahawks presents an unprecedented challenge for the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports." For the first time in history, both a World Series game and Monday Night Football are being played in the same city, on the same night.

"The X factor is we're also covering the World Series, with 'Baseball Tonight,'" said Drake, who added the closest the two events came to intertwining was in 1986, when the New York Mets hosted the Red Sox for Game 7 at Shea Stadium, while the New York Giants played across the state line in New Jersey. Rather than miles, the distance between Busch Stadium and the Edward Jones Dome can be measured in blocks.

ESPN has deployed nearly 400 staffers to St. Louis, with two distinct crews.

"We could have been having a different conversation because if the National League had won the All-Star Game, 'Baseball Tonight' would be in Boston tonight," added Drake.

Logistics aren't only a challenge for television. Thousands of visiting fans already had hotels and plane tickets booked ahead of time. Bob Vandenburgh, a Washington state native and avid Seahawks fan, drove from his current home in southern Indiana. Joined by his son, Nathan, the two are part of a Midwest Seahawks fan club.

"We had some concerns we were going to get booted out of our hotel, but that didn't happen," said Vandenburgh.

"We we're planning on the World Series being here when we bought the tickets," said Nathan, who flew in from his Texas home over the weekend.

Another group of fans from California, all devout Rams fans by virtue of the team's former home in Los Angeles, were not planning on attending the World Series as well, but bought tickets when they realized they would be free on the night of Game 4.

"We went because the game was in town. We're not Cardinals fans. We're Dodgers/Angels fans. That's why we're here,” said Jared Mathis of Sacramento.

While both events mean the city's main sporting venues will be occupied at the same time, the excitement over the Cardinals’ run to the World Series has eclipsed the Rams' game. While tickets for the World Series have dropped significantly, with tickets once going for $400 dropping to half of that, many secondary ticket resellers are reporting thousands of unsold Rams tickets. Stubhub.com has hundreds available for less than $10, including club level seats that are selling for the same price of World Series standing room seats.